Hi all,
We are delighted to announce that Kontakt 7.7.0 is now available to download via Native Access! This release introduces a handful of improvements to the fullscreen Browser, as well as some general refinements to navigation and overall user experience, and a handful of bug fixes (including the CPU spikes that were introduced with the 7.6.1 update). Here’s a brief explanation of the workflow changes you can expect in 7.7.0.
Browser improvements
We’ve significantly enhanced the text search behaviour of the fullscreen Browser that was introduced in Kontakt 7. This now accommodates partial and full string matching within the names of libraries, presets, vendors, tags or other metadata. Text-based search queries will now find results far more frequently, resulting in fewer cases of no results being found. Examples:
- Searching for “electric guitar” will find presets with Type = Guitar and Subtype = Electric
- Searching for “acid bass” will find presets containing both “acid” and “bass” in their name - even if separated by a space (e.g. “Acid Tube Bass” from Kontakt Factory Library 2)
- Searching for “sym tru” will find the preset “Trumpet” from Symphony Essentials Brass
The “New Instruments for you” panel at the bottom of the fullscreen Browser also offers alternative Instruments that match your search query, in addition to those found in your library for further creative possibilities. Clicking on these opens the corresponding webpage, where you can learn more and listen to audio demos.
Navigation improvements
We’ve reworked Kontakt’s application header for better readability, and access to key functions. Kontakt now has three main entry points:
- FILE: the main menu, which includes options, purging, and hardware connectivity
- LIBRARY: the fullscreen Browser
- VIEW: switch between Single View and Rack View, configure layout and Zoom, and setting a default view (e.g. mode, layout, zoom) for new instances when Kontakt is running as a plug-in
This article explains how to use the “Set current view as default” function: https://support.native-instruments.com/hc/en-us/articles/14639260981533
Full list of changes:
- ADDED Simplified application header for efficient access to key functions
- File, Library and View have dedicated text labels
- Single View / Rack View toggle is now found in View menu
- Options is now found File menu
- ADDED Text search enhancements to full-screen Browser, allowing searches across full or partial names of libraries, instruments, presets, tags and more
- ADDED Search results display additionally available libraries in “New Instruments for you” panel
- ADDED Option to display fullscreen Browser for new Instances in Rack view under Options > Interface (note: Browser is always shown in Single View)
- ADDED 50% zoom setting
- IMPROVED Double-clicking a preset in Files tab, Libraries tab or Quick-Load will now replace the preset loaded in the currently selected slot, instead of adding it to the Rack
- IMPROVED Access fullscreen Browser by clicking Kontakt logo in application header (About Box accessed via NI logo)
- FIXED Browser text entry no longer intercepted by DAW when Kontakt is hosted as a plug-in inside of Logic Pro
- FIXED Intermittent CPU spikes on macOS (introduced in Kontakt 7.6.1)
- FIXED Regression in KSP message logging performance when Developer Options are enabled (introduced in Kontakt 7.5.0) causing CPU spikes in certain 8dio libraries
- FIXED RAM footprint no longer increases after prolonged use
- FIXED Instrument focus strip in instrument header now updates when using previous / next buttons within edit mode
- FIXED Correct visual state for Library button when instantiating Kontakt
- REMOVED "Batch resave" and "Batch collect/Compress samples" options in File menu no longer appear when Kontakt is hosted as a plug-in
Happy updating! We're keeping this thread open for a week, until next Tuesday, November 14, 2023. Let us know what you think in the comments.
Best,
Your Kontakt Team